Episode 2-23
Yuta asks Ran if he's okay, having shielded Ran from the impact of the blast with his wings. He notes that the whirlwind was different from the day before: it was smaller and formed right in front of them instead of further away. Asha shows up, noting that this is why magicians hesitate to become sponsors. Ran wonders why she is in such a bad mood. At the Temple of Earth, Siera asks Claude what he told Asha, since Asha looked angry when she left. Claude claims that he only played cards with her. Siera warns him against his prophecies, because Claude never tells anything positive, so nobody likes it. Claude counters that knowing the bad things lets one prepare in advance. Siera then asks him when he will return to Rindhallow, noting that he has already received many official letters asking Claude to return. Claude just complains that it is stifling, and that this is the reason he did not want the job. He then promises to leave as soon as Siera shows him Kubera's spear and armor. Siera replies that it is not a simple matter because of the security system. At that moment, Claude picks out three cards: madman, nastika, immortal. He tells Siera that he needs to worry more about the safety of his city, and then leaves to take a look around. At the Temple of Chaos, Teo tells Gandharva to watch his step. Gandharva recalls her story of how she lost her parents, as well as Sagara's claims that he and Sagara are alike. Teo starts telling him a story. According to legends, Kali could discern the true nature of created beings. Gandharva realizes that she is talking about insight, and that many gods have that ability, though Visnu and Kali did not have ordinary insight. Teo concludes by stating that the waters of the Lake of Reflection reflect a being's true nature, but a person cannot see one's own reflection: someone else must look at it. She turns around, asking Gandharva if he wants her to look at his, only to see him close to her, blocking her view. Spoilers and Trivia Show/Hide Spoilers and Trivia * From Currygom's blog entry for this episode: ** (Yuta and Ran): Long time no see, Yuta's wings! Whenever I draw them, I think feathered wings are three times easier to draw. ** The webtoon is released about 10 a.m. every Tuesday morning, but my blog posts have an earlier timestamp of Monday night at 11:30 p.m. because I schedule them to post privately at that time. Once the webtoon is uploaded and updated, I switch it to a public post. ** And sorry for being late. The deadline was 6 p.m. Monday but I was too busy typesetting at the last minute and lost track of time. ㅠㅠ ** (Asha teleporting to Ran): Asha clearly told Leez to quickly change and come out. Willarv's_Leez's_common_sense_of_existence.jpg ** (Claude and Siera): Some have commented that the difference in age between Airi and Claude from their blog profiles is strange. It's not strange and their ages are correct. It will be mentioned later in the story. ** This episode's cards are different from the ones that I originally uploaded in the webtoon. The images are the same but the words underneath are different. burning jester / above the planet / immortal are the three cards. After cards were first introduced in Ep.2-20, many readers said that they can't read the words, and some argued that I'm showing off my English skills... (Everyone, I suck at English, so there's no way I would boast about it. ㅠㅠ) So I changed burning jester to simply madman, and above the planet to simply nastika. It's very straightforward... It's straightforward, but all the different meanings contained in the cards have completely disappeared. ㅠㅠ It's a pity, but... ** (Gandharva's normal reflection): Gandharva appeared a lot but hardly spoke any lines... He did have a few thoughts, though. ** The last scene has a slightly different composition from my first attempt at drawing it. Sometimes I wholly devote myself to the story, so I often mistake a character's height, and make a story that's impossible considering that character's height, and I end up in a situation where I need to redraw the entire story. This episode had that exact situation... I drew at an angle that needed Gandharva to be much bigger than before and... I realized later that this isn't going to work... (crying) I really am an idiot. * It's actually possible to deduce by now how the Neutral Bow works. See the spoilers section for Ep.2-93. * Since Asha suddenly appeared while wearing her Hunter's Eyes surrounded by a bit of wind, it's obvious that she arrived via hoti vayu. * It isn't clear yet if Claude's cards represent three separate characters or just one, but at least one of them refers to Gandharva. * Teo describes insight. Humans aren't aware that gods possess this ability. For example, Agni told Gandharva early in the series that Brilith didn't know about it. * Insight only works on beings younger than oneself. As primeval gods, Visnu and Kali can use insight even on natural gods and nastikas, and may have insight abilities other gods do not. Visnu, in particular, is able to see the consequences of all choices. See spoiler section of Ep.2-68. It's unclear if Kali's insight has other special properties. References